From the writer of Training Day, End of Watch is a riveting action thriller that puts audiences at the center of the chase like never before. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peņa star as young LA police officers who discover a secret that makes… MoreFrom the writer of Training Day, End of Watch is a riveting action thriller that puts audiences at the center of the chase like never before. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peņa star as young LA police officers who discover a secret that makes them the target of the country's most dangerous drug cartel. -- (C) Open Road

End of Watch doesn't do anything new, and what it does do has been done better. David Ayer supposedly spent only six days writing the script and it shows,… MoreEnd of Watch doesn't do anything new, and what it does do has been done better. David Ayer supposedly spent only six days writing the script and it shows, merely creating the basic elements of a safe, cohesive, and marketable plot. Ayers, known for his shrill, marketable approach to filmmaking, chose the trendy documentary-style cinematography, which is supposed to increase the realism or believability of the "footage." Here, it consistently does the opposite and ends up a jumbled mess of first-person and third-person perspectives. Ayers needed a reason why our protagonist cop is carrying a camera, and conveniently has him enrolled in a film class. Are the gang bangers in film class, too? One of the them films themselves and the crew in the car as they heatedly argue -- with guns pointed at each other -- over plans to kill police officers. The other kicker is that the gang's leader yells to get the camera out of his face, while little does he know there are at least 3 more in the car that none of them are even aware of. Yes, Ayers betrays his own movie, as not only does the "amateur" footage look produced, but the majority of the movie is in 3rd person with cameras not present in the story. All that is really accomplished here is 10 minutes of the movie filled with characters complaining about being filmed. Readers would be better served watching any two episodes of The Wire, even if they've already been seen.

familiar stranger

A cop flick that was neither boring nor interesting. The friendship of the protagonists hardly had anything new. The end is apparently (and most probably,… MoreA cop flick that was neither boring nor interesting. The friendship of the protagonists hardly had anything new. The end is apparently (and most probably, intentionally) predictable due to its title.

JY Skacto

The end doesn't come soon enough in David Ayer's <i>End of Watch</i>.<p>The film gets points for realism, but as far as the story is… MoreThe end doesn't come soon enough in David Ayer's <i>End of Watch</i>.<p>The film gets points for realism, but as far as the story is concerned, there isn't much in the way of flow. Watching cops "take down bad guys" for 100 minutes gets tiresome and while the story tries to develop the main protagonists with family and emotion, it isn't effective enough to warrant huge cheers for them.</p><p>The realism of the dialogue is both a strength and a weakness. It fits well with the concept of the film and its hand held camera style, which is a hit or miss, but watching Mexican gangsters cursing on every other word is just plain annoying.</p><p>Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena put up some solid performances; however, it doesn't surpass the mediocrity of their characters.</p><p>In the end, <i>End of Watch</i> really lacks any entertainment value to be worth checking out.</p>

Idrees Khan

Interesting film that displays the difficulties and nuances of being a successful police officer in high crime regions.

Cynthia S.

I almost turned this off after the first half hour, but I am glad that I stuck it out. I found it a decent story. A thriller at times. Full of good… MoreI almost turned this off after the first half hour, but I am glad that I stuck it out. I found it a decent story. A thriller at times. Full of good performances, but also relies on typical stereotypes of Mexican gang bangers. Nothing terribly new, and I wasn't really sure why they decided to end it the way they did. All in all, though, worth watching..

♥˩ƳИИ ƜѲѲƉƧ♥

Ugh, so good!!! review soon...

Sunny Dogra

"End of Watch" is captivating and entertaining throughout, but it seems to lack an impactful meaning other than "being a cop kinda sucks."… More"End of Watch" is captivating and entertaining throughout, but it seems to lack an impactful meaning other than "being a cop kinda sucks." The characters don't make any noticeable arcs throughout the movie, and the ending could've used some work. Grade: C

Kase Vollebregt

'End of Watch' is a brilliantly executed cop drama that is as enticing as it is unrelenting. A quick pace makes the film kinetic and never loses your… More'End of Watch' is a brilliantly executed cop drama that is as enticing as it is unrelenting. A quick pace makes the film kinetic and never loses your attention. The real props however, go to the two leads in Gyllenhaal and Pena, who establish wonderful character development along the chaotic ride. Their banter and build up bring us to an unflinching climax that shows no remorse. In fact, nothing about the film is remorseful. This is pure, unadulterated chaos, shoveled into one to make one of the best cop films you'll see in recent years.

Melvin White

Brian Taylor: Come on, man. We're cops. Everybody wants to kill us, Tre.
"Every Moment of Your Life They Stand Watch"
End of Watch is a hard… MoreBrian Taylor: Come on, man. We're cops. Everybody wants to kill us, Tre.
"Every Moment of Your Life They Stand Watch"
End of Watch is a hard hitting, gritty, and well made cop thriller directed with intensity by David Ayer and boasts two great performances from Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena, as best friends and partners. The film is shot like a documentary in order to make it feel more real. It certainly does have a very realistic feel to it the whole way. There's parts that are disturbing, violent, and down right gruesome, but at the heart of the film is always the friendship between two fellow cops.
Brian and Mike are two cops working in a heavily gang and drug influenced part of LA. They also love their jobs. They love saving lives, taking out the bad guys, and life threatening situations have become the routine for them. However, their fire and gusto may prove to get them into trouble once they start messing with an extremely powerful cartel working out of LA.
A lot of the movie is basically us watching the two cops as they go about their watches. We watch them take calls and go into situations not knowing what's going to happen when they arrive on the scene. One of the cops, Brian, is taking a film class, so he is documenting everything they do on the job. He carries around a camera when he's able to, and him and his partner also have mini cameras on their uniforms.
This movie proved to be a little more emotional than I would have ever thought. It's a movie that uses all the excitement and joking between the two to really show that these guys think they are bullet proof, fire proof, and any other type of proof. Overall, this is just about as good as a beat cop movie can be. It really is excellent filmmaking.

Dan Schultz

A riveting, hard-hitting look of two cops (Jake Gyllenhall, Michael Pena) and the random jobs they are assigned to on a daily basis in the dangerous LA area,… MoreA riveting, hard-hitting look of two cops (Jake Gyllenhall, Michael Pena) and the random jobs they are assigned to on a daily basis in the dangerous LA area, and how young adulthood, family, and a good sense of humor keeps them grounded amongst the chaos of their work on the streets. Without question one of the best cop dramas to come out in quite some time. While director David Ayer's track record is far from perfect (I still think "Training Day" is over-rated, and "Street Kings" is awful), he gets almost everything right here. Sure, some elements are a little Hollywood-ized and there are a couple plot holes, but Ayer's decision to film this with HD cameras and the "shaky-cam" shooting style gives this a realistic feel to it. The ending is heart-wrenching and tear-jerking, with both Gyllenhaal and Pena once again showing why they are two of the best young actors in the business, with each giving arguably their best performance of their careers. Not for all tastes, given the ugliness these guys stumble into given their line of work, but impossible not to be fascinated with how they attempt to handle it all. A near-great film, and one that should be seen.

Daniel Lermenator

End of Watch is a gritty police drama that soars thanks to the fantastic perfomances from the two leads and intense action sequences.

Mister Caple

Some fiction movies knock politely on the door to gain attention,others just kick it in. David Ayer's "End of Watch" is even more assaultive than… MoreSome fiction movies knock politely on the door to gain attention,others just kick it in. David Ayer's "End of Watch" is even more assaultive than his best known previous film as screenwriter,who was best known for penning the Oscar winning "Training Day". This "day in the life" cop drama presents law enforcement in South Central Los Angeles as an extreme blood sport. The only difference: no one knows from minute to minute who is the quarry,who is the hunter. Lots of people get blown away. In one of the most graphic scenes ever committed to celluloid a cop squats on a sidewalk with a knife stuck in his eye, and from just I explain there is more to come within this graphically intense and sometimes brutally violent cop drama. The nearly non-stop handheld camera,now standing for patrol cop Jake Gyllenhaal's personal camcorder,now just giddying our point of view,would seem a verismo action thriller cliche without this film's honorable humanizing endeavors. In their cop car Gyllenhaal and his partner Michael Pena,swear, jabber, and horseplay;after hours they patch together their fallible home lives. Each is on the brink of marriage or fatherhood. In the bloody noon of their day they stumble on drugs,deaths,a house full of human traffic captives,another house full of dismembered body parts...not to mention dealing with an intense battle sequence with violent drug cartels. Though we doubt the scene near the end where they run into an apartment block and improbably escape a staccato of machine-gun fire;we doubt for a second what follows is a cool and grisly face off between recognized helpnessless(theirs)and goonishly exultant brutality(the baddies that ranged between local gang bangers and dealing with the violent Mexican cartels and rival gangs) that results in one of the most intense and graphically stylish police thrillers in recent memory and "End of Watch" definitely stands out as the best of 2012 has to offer.